Remote-control means for directcurrent motors



E. L. OLSEN Oct. 14, 1947.

REMOTE CONTROL MEANS FOR DIRECT CURRENT MOTORS Filed April 29. 1943Invzmun E.L.DL5r:n

ATTYs By-a Patented Oct. 14, 1947 OFFICE REMOTE- CONTROL MEANS FORDIRECT- CURRENT MOTORS Edgar Leonard" Olsen, Weldon,

Saskatchewan,

Canada Application April 29, 1943, Serial No. 485,022

Claims.

This invention relates to remote for direct current motors.

It is an object of the present invention to provide remote control meansfor direct current motors through which saidmotors may be controlledwithout varying the normal operating characteristics of the motor suchas affecting the field control means A further object of the inventionis to provide a remote control of this character which is of aparticularly simple nature and which may be coupled with motorsconveniently.

A still further object of the invention is to provide control means ofthe character referred to which may be readily connected with a motor ormotors and readily disconnected, therefrom so that the motors may beoperatedin the ordinary manner without such control.

W th these and other objects in view the invention generally comprises arotatable control member with means for rotating the latter, saidcontrol member being connected with the line and in series withcommutator means carried on the shaft of the motor to transmit to thecommutator means the corresponding armature displacement and/or speed ofoperation of the control member.

The invention will be clearly understood by reference to the followingdetailed specification taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a schematic side elevationof the armature of a motor showingits wiring connections with one form of controlmember shown in sectionemployed according to the present invention.

Fig, 2 is a schematic end. view of the armature and magnets of the motorwith the armature shaft shown in section.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the control member shown in Fig. 1illustrating the position of the brushes and the contact members of. thecontrol member.

Fig. 4 is a sectional detail of an alternative form of control memberillustrating the position of the brushes in relation thereto.

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of Fig. 4, and

Figs. 6 and 7 are elevations of the commutator rings for the motorarmature illustrating between the two figures the relative positions ofthe metallic contacts of these two rings when mounted on the shaft foroperation.

Referring to the drawings. A indicates the armature of any directcurrent motor which is carried on the shaft III and is designed t rotatewithin a series of magnets II. The armature shaft carries a pair ofindependent commutator rings I2 and I3 which are connected in the usualmanner with the armature and have contact plate I4 and I 5 respectivelypaced apart by insulation and disposed in alternative positions such asthe relation illustrated between Figs. 6 and 7. Current is transmittedto the armature through the contact plates I4 and I5 by means'of. thebrushes I6 and I1 and I 8 and I9. Current is supplied to the brushesfrom the mains 20 and 2| which may be connected in circuit by meansofthe blades of a double throw switch B. In the present instance the mains20 and 2I connect with the blades 22 and 23 of the switch B whereas thebrushes It and I1 connect with the blade 24 and 25 and the brushes I8and I9 with the blades 26 and 27. The switch blades may be thrown toengage the series of contact clipslfl and 29 ea'chof which series arecommonly connectedby the wirin": 38 and 3| respectively. Thus. if theblades are thrown into engagement with the clips 28 and 29 the brushesI6, I1, I8 and I9 are co-nnectedin circuit with the mains 2 and 2I. Inthis connection the blades 24 and 25 are connected by way of the leadwires 32 and 33 respectively with the brushes I6 and II. On the otherhand. the blades 26 and- 21 are connected by way of the'lead wires 34and 35 with the brushes I8 and I9. Consequently; when the blades engagethe clips 28 and ?9 current will flow from the main 29 through the blade23. clips 29 and through either of the leads 32 and 33 to the brushes I6and I1 depending upon their position-and through the commutator rings I2and I3 to the armature and return via the brushes I8 and I9. lead wires34 and 35,"to blades 26 and 21 and through contact clips 28 to the line2-I through the blade 22. In this way the motor may be operated innormal manner.

The magnets I I when they are electromagnets may be connected with theline by way of the lead 35 which connects between the main 20 and themagnet wiring 31 which is wired in suitable manner such as illustratedto power the magnets-and returns by way of the lead 38 to the blade 39through the appropriate clip of the series 28. r

In order to control the speed of the motor or motors by way of remotecontrol and without affecting the field of the motor or motors beingcontrolled, I provide a rotatable remote control unit C which may takeseveral forms and which may be operated by a small motor D although anysuitable means of rotation as may be desired may be employed. The formof unit C illustrated in Fig. 1 comprises a disc with metal contactsectors 4. and 4] and the alternate sectors 42 and 43, the

former being directly in the path of the brushes 44, 45, 46 and 41,while the latter are directly in the path of the brushes 48, 49, 50 andThe control member C may be connected in circuit with the motor throughthe switch B, by means of the series of contact clips indicated at 52,53, 54, 55, 55, 51 and 58, all of which are insulated one from another.When the blades of switch B are thrown into contact with the contactclips 52 to 58 current is carried by the main 25 through the blade 23,contact clip 56, through the main branch 28a to the brushes 44 and 49.

These brushes make contact with the metallic sectors 40, M, 42 and 43alternately as the rotary remote control unit C revolves, whereas theother s de of the line 2Ia is connected in the circuit by way of thebrushes 41 and 50 so that the current flows through the lead a andreturns via the lead 21a.

Current is supplied intermittently from the rotary control unit C by thebrushes 45, 45, 48 and 51 to the commutator unit comprised by thecommutator rings I2 and I3 as follows: From the brush 45 connection isefiected through the lead 59, through the contact cl p 51, blade 24 ofthe switch B, lead 33, down to the commutator ring I2, the returncircuit being effected thrcu'ih the lead 34 back to blade 21, throughcontact clip 53 and lead 60 to brush 45, thence through the contact M tothe brush 41 and the other side of the line through branch 2Iaconnecting in turn through the contact clip 55 with the other side ofthe line 2|.

When the commutator unit C is rotated so as to bring the contact sectors42 and 43 in contact with the brushes 48, 49, 50 and 5| current willflow from the branch 20a of the main 2!] through the brush 49, contact42 (Fig. 3), brush 48, lead 6| to the contact lip 58 of switch B throughthe blade 25, lead 32 and brush II to the commutator ring I3. The returnflow will be through the lead 35, blade 26 and contact clip 54 of switchB then through lead 52 to the brush 5I and through contact 43 to brush50 and to the main 2I through the branch 2Ia.

In consequence of this arrangement the motor or motors connected to therotary control unit C through the switch B will be operated inaccordance with the manner in which the control unit C is operated. Onthe other hand by swinging the blades of switch B to the opposite set ofcontact clips the control unit C is out out of operation and the motoror motors concerned may be operated in normal manner directly from themains 2I and 20.

When the motor or motors is switched from ordinary operation to remotecontrol operation by throwing the blades or switch B over to thecontacts 52 to 58 it is possible that the commutator rings I2 and I3 maynot be correspondingly positioned with the rotary control unit C. Forinstance, the brush of one of the commutator ringsmight be engaging aninsulated part of the ring while its corresponding contact on thecontact unit is engaging the corresponding brush of the control unit.This, however, can be readily adjusted by rotating the unit C until thecontacts thereof have been brought into proper position with those ofthe commutator rings I2 and I3. Moreover, in order to indicate that therotary control member is in proper position in relation to thecommutator rings of the motor a circuit may be incorporated to include asignal lamp of the other signalling means 63 connected in parallel withthe mains through the lead 64 connected with the branch line 20a and onthe other side of the signalling means with the branch line 2|a througha movable contact member 65 and lead 66. The movable contact member maybe actuated by an electromagnet 61 in series with the branch line 2la.When the movable contact 65 is out of contact with the lead 66 thecontacts of the rotary control unit C are out of position in relation tothe corresponding contacts of the commutator rings I2 and I3 as abovereferred to. However, when the control unit C has been rotated toposition the corresponding contacts and rotary member C in properrelation to the commutator rings I2 and I3 the electromagnet 61 will beenergized thus to cause movable contact 65 to engage the lead 66 therebysignalling that unit C has been brought into proper position withcommutators I2 and I3.

Other forms of control unit might be used. For instance, an arrangementsuch as shown in Fig. 4 might be employed wherein the unit C is made upof two disk-like bodies 68 and 69, each as shown in Fig. 5, having twosector contacts I8 and II opposed to one another with intervening sectorinsulating portions 12 and I3. In this connection the brushescorresponding to the brushes 44 and 49 and 41 and 50 shown in Fig. l arereplaced by the brushes I4 and I5 and 16 and II respectively, each pairbeing commonly connected by the leads I8 and 19 respectively with thebranch lines 20a and Ho. Similarly, the contacts 45 and 48 are replacedby the contacts and SI respectively, while the contacts 46 and 5| arereplaced by the contacts 82 and 83. This provides a compact form ofrotary control unit C. Alternatively, however, the control unit C mightuplicate the rings as I2 and I3.

Regardless of the type of rotary control unit C, just so long as itprovides contacts which will correspond with those of the commutatorunit employed in conjunction with the motor or motors, the rotarycontrol unit will function as above described to control the operationof the motor or motors when the switch B is operated to connect therotary control unit in circuit with the motor or motors.

The invention may be applied to function in various ways. By way ofexample, it may be used in the operation of drills at varying drillingspeeds as may be required, having regard to the nature of the drillingoperation to be performed. This will eliminate the necessity of gearreduction units, belt drives, etc. In this instance, it is onlynecessary to provide a small motor with a rheostat control and, forexample, a speed indicator so that by the setting of the rheostat, theaccurate speed of the drill operating motor, can be set in a very simpleoperation.

A still further illustration of the use of the remote control accordingto the invention would involve the principle of having certainmechanical operations carried out by a number of units, corresponding tothe same operation carried out through a pilot control unit by means ofa template, for instance. In other words, in conjunction with a numberof lathes, the cutting operation might be carried out by following atemplate in connection with the pilot control unit and the actions ofthe template translated to the various lathes set for the purposewherein the operation was carried out correspondingly by variousmechanical means of translation. As an example, a pilot unit might beemployed to control the operating speed of the lathes. A second pilotunit might be employed in connection with the tool slide so that thetool slide on the lathes would operate correspondingly whereas for afurther simultaneous or successive operation that might be required, athird pilot unit might be employed to translate this operation to theseries of lathes. In each case, the lathes would have a responding unitincluding a motor for each pilot unit of the control.

The foregoing are examples of some of the many uses to which the remotecontrol unit may be applied.

It is apparent from the foregoing that the means of remote controlproduced by the present invention is particularly simple in characterand may be caused to bring about efiicient operation of a motor ormotors of the direct current type to cause a predetermined armaturedisplacement and/or provide for operation at selected speeds governed bythe control unit and without affecting the field of the motors.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A speed control for shunt and compound wound self or separatelyexcited direct current motors comprising an insulated speed controlmember having at least two separate series of spaced contacts and aplurality of brushes olesigned intermittently to engage them, acommutator carried by the motor s aft and including at least twoinsulated slip rings having diametrically opposed conducting segmentsthereon, each connected to an opposite side of a motor armature coil andeach contact extending over the surface of the slip ring for a number ofelectrical degrees corresponding to the degrees of contact with saidrotary control cont-acts and their brushes, wiring means fed from theline supply and connected between said brushes and the segments of saidslip ring and means for pro ducing controlled relative movement betweensaid control member a d said brushes to engage said brushes alternatelywith each of said series of contacts whereby alternately to supplycurrent to said armature coils through said slip ring to cause operationof said motor corresponding in speed to the rotation of said speedcontrol member.

2. A speed control for shunt and compound wound self or separatelyexcited direct current motors com rising a speed control member, a bankof brushes, said speed control member being a di k having at least twoseparate series of contacts, said disk being divided into sections bydivisions extending radial y from the centre and lines concentric witthe centre. adjacent sections in an annular path bei g alternatelyinsulated and co ducting and forming one of said series of contacts, andadjacent sections in a radial direction being alternately insulated andconducting. said ba k of brushes extending diametrically across saidcontrol member and being designed to intermittently engage the contactsthereon in a manner to alternately complete a circuit through the seriesof contac's thereon a commutator carried by the motor shaft, saideommutator having at lea t two i sulated slip rings and having a numberof pairs of diametrical y opposed conducting segments mounted thereon,each segment extending along the surface of the ring for a number ofdegrees corresponding to the degrees a radial division of said controldisk and each segment being connected to one side of a separate armaturecoil, its diametrically opposite segment being connected to the oppositeside of the same coil, wiring means connecting said commutator to theline through said brushes and (iii member.

3. A speed control member as claimed in claim 2 having a signal means toindicate when the conducting segments on the commutator slip rings arein a corresponding position to the conducting segments on the rotarycontrol member.

4. A speed control member as claimed in claim 2, said signal meanscomprising a. signal light connected across the line and having anon-off switch operable by an electro magnet in series with the line.

5. A speed control for shunt and compound wound self or separatelyexcited direct current motors comprising a speed control member, twobanks of brushes, said speed control member bing of disk-like characterand having two separate series of contacts, said control membercomprising a pair of contact disks and an intervening insulating disk,said contact disks being divided into four equal sections by divisionsextending radially from their centres, adjacent sections in an annularpath around said disk being alternately insulating and conducting andeach of said disks forming one of said series of contacts, said banks ofbrushes being designed to extend diametrically across said contact disksand to intermittently engage the contacts thereon in a manner toalternately complete a circuit through the two series of contacts, acommutator carrie'd by the motor shaft, said commutator having at leasttwo insulated slip rings and having a number of pairs of diametricallyopposed conducting segments mounted thereon, each segment extendingalong the surface of the ring for a number of degrees corresponding tothe degrees in. a radial division of said control d sk each segmentbeing connected to one side of a separate armature coil, itsdiametricall opposite seg ment being connected to the opposite side ofthe same coil, wiring means connecting said commutator to the linethrough said brushes and control member, means for rotating said controlmember with respect to said bank of brushes to complete a circuit fromthe line supply alter" nately through each of said series of contactswhereby alternately to supply current to said armature coils throughsaid sl p rings to cause operation of said motor at a specscorresponding in speed to the rotation of said speed control member.

EDGAR LEONARD OLSEN.

. CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS are of record in the Number Name Date498,160 Dyer May 23, 1893 754,298 Feller Ivlar. 8, 1964 830 Dawson etal. Nov. 7, 3.999

1,949,910 Heckler Mar. 5, 193% 2,264,076 Groot et al. M Nov. 25, 19411,529,438 Kellum Mar. 10, 1925 1,178,128 Britton Apr. 4, 1916 2,340,094Whittaker Jan. 25, 1944

